


An Echo of Clockwork

by TheSilverPhoenix



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Cardverse, F/F, Family Issues, Mystery, Nyotalia, Resistance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverPhoenix/pseuds/TheSilverPhoenix
Summary: The Hoyle Kingdoms - Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, and Hearts - have unified into Arcadia. The monarchies have been disbanded and the magic that crowned them has long faded away. Arcadia, a country ruled by the Order of Hoyle - a ruling party elected upon the unification of Hoyle - is known for its innovative technology and strong military. The Order, however, has become a powerfully corrupt, elite ruling class in which membership is passed down through lineage. Fearful that they will be usurped, the Order has maintained strict and absolute control over the people. Anyone who publicly opposes the Order disappears and those who whisper oppositions to their actions in private remain fearful of listening walls.With underground unrest amongst citizens growing, the old magic of Hoyle is reignited and royalty walks amongst the people once more.
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Despite what anyone else thought, Alice Kirkland was nothing like her family. Outside of her family’s mansion, where appearance mattered the most, Alice could see how people would draw that conclusion of her. Uptight, emotionless, cold. The Kirklands were infamous for it. But behind the solid iron gates that guarded the front of their estate, Alice transformed into the outcast of the family. Where her elder sisters and brothers were boisterous, the youngest was contemplative; where the others spoke without thinking, Alice wielded her words like a weapon; when her family members allowed the mask to morph who they were, Alice took it off.

Alice became the black sheep the moment she was trapped behind those iron gates, a prisoner to her own family.

Which was why the library had grown to be her favorite place in the mansion. Any book she picked up, regardless of genre or length or subject, became her escape when it was all too impossible to leave. Books could take her somewhere else entirely - away from everything that was her world and into one that was far more interesting.

Currently, Alice found herself wrapped up in a historical book, one that told the stories of kingdoms whose time had long passed. It was a rare edition indeed, not because it hadn’t been popular or inaccurate, but because stories of the ancient Kingdoms had long been outlawed in Arcadia. Alice had found it tucked onto the highest shelf of the library one day while browsing and she highly doubted that her father knew that it even existed, otherwise it wouldn’t exist at all.

The book had been worn down with age - bound with a leather spine that was slowly peeling itself away - and it was rather short, but it was fascinating none-the-less. The ancient Kingdoms of Hoyle - Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades - were all prosperous lands, each with their own unique specialty, and were ruled by monarchs - a King, Queen, Jack, and Ace - chosen by the deeply rooted magic of the Divines. That was until, of course, Arcadia had risen and the Order had taken over, first promising peace and unity in the kingdom that would be brought about by the descendants of the chosen monarchs of old. Now that peace and unity was held together by fear and any hope of the monarchs’ return faded into legend.

Alice was careful as she flipped her way through the yellowed pages, afraid that any jarring movement would rip the page in her hand or, even worse, that the book would simply crumble to dust and be carried away by the wind. Her eyes skimmed the fading words she’d read a hundred times, knowing and memorizing each line as she went. There was something - she didn’t know what - about this book that sparked something in her. Something that sent her mind whirling and inevitably drew her back to its pages, captivating her interest no matter how many more books she read.

Her attention was snatched away from her when someone knocked on the door of the library. Quickly, Alice snapped the book closed, tucked it into its hiding place - behind some books just out of reach - and opened to a random page of this closest book she could find. “Come in.”

The door cracked open and in entered one of the many servants that worked at Kirkland manor, Michael. “Miss Kirkland?”

Alice gave a hum before deciding to look up at him, taking on the bored-like personality she’d developed well over the years. “Yes, what is it?”

“Your father wishes to see you in his study,” the boy told her after a quick bow.

For a moment, Alice could feel her heart skip a beat in her chest. Why did her father want to see her? Had he discovered the book or something far worse? Was she in trouble?

“Very well,” Alice said, trying not to allow the panic to overtake her. No. If her father had discovered anything, she certainly wouldn’t have found herself being politely summoned by a servant. There was nothing wrong and there was no reason to panic. “Thank you, Michael.”

The servant gave her another quick bow and took his leave as Alice shut her book and rose from her place in the chair. The Kirkland manor was large and ornate, decorated with precision to show off their wealth and power over those who had none. Long ago, the Kirklands had ruled one of Hoyle Kingdoms - though Alice had forgotten which one - and had earned their place in the Order to help rule. Though Alice, as the youngest of the five Kirkland siblings, would never be seated on the Order, she still reaped the benefits of being so closely related to a sitting member. She found herself with the best education, the best clothing, and the best innovations - all because of her bloodline.

Alice made her way through the winding halls of the manor, passing by servants and footman alike. But no sign of her siblings, a fact of which she was grateful for.

The door to her father’s study was different from the others in the manor. While most of the doors were nondescript and carved from an ancient oak, the door to her father’s study was carved from a darker wood and engraved with the Kirkland family seal. It was unlike any of the other doors in the manor - intimidating, firm, and always closed.

It wasn’t the first time Alice found herself staring down that door. There were many times that Alice and her siblings had been called into that study, and it was rarely a good reason. Even when Alice had earned the highest marks in her class, she’d been called into the study, not for a congratulations, but a scolding. Apparently, her older sister, Aileen, had earned higher and that just wouldn’t do.

Before she could allow herself to hesitate, Alice knocked on the door and waited for the muffled “Enter” of her father’s voice before opening it.

Edward Kirkland was an intimidating man, even to his own family. He was incredibly tall and muscled, his stature seeming to draw attention wherever he traveled. The bright red of his hair was always meticulously taken care of and styled - evidence of his status and grooming - and it contrasted greatly with his green eyes, which bore into any poor soul who found themselves on the other end of a conversation with him.

Alice found herself on the end of that stare right now. 

Despite the fear Edward Kirkland inspired, Alice couldn’t bring herself to feel anything towards him. As a father, he’d failed spectacularly and whatever love someone was supposed to feel towards their parents had been drained from her long ago. To him, Alice was simply the youngest child and that meant nothing more than the fact that she could never be good enough for anything close to his admiration.

So Alice simply stared back, her own green eyes refusing to look away out of pride and spite.

“You called for me, Father?”

“Yes,” the man eventually said after a long period of silence. He set down the pen in his hand and pushed the documents that were laid out on the desk before him away. With the stare broken, Alice studied the large, pane glass window behind him. The sun which normally shone brightly down on the hilly estate had been covered by thick, dark grey clouds that angrily swirled in the sky and the wind was violently ripping through the trees that decorated the gravel pathway to the gardens below. Though it wasn’t raining yet, Alice could tell that the oncoming storm would be brutal and unyielding.

“Aileen mentioned to me that you’ve been accompanied by a young woman the past couple of weeks at school,” he continued. Alice was jarred out of her musing. That? He wanted to talk about that? “An Amelia Jones?”

Of course Aileen would tell their father. There was nothing about her that her father wouldn’t, eventually, find out and Aileen, out of all of her siblings, was the biggest snitch. Suspicion immediately filled her. If her father wanted to know about Amelia, there was something in it for him, “Jones?”

“Yes, Amelia Jones,” he repeated, exasperation filling his voice, “and her sister, Madeline.”

“What about them?”

“Tell me about them.”

Amelia Jones and her sister, Madeline Williams, were two girls who went to school with Alice. In the beginning, when the two sisters had first arrived, Alice found that they were incredibly different from one another. Madeline had been quiet and shy, preferring to take diligent, detailed notes on the lecture being given and focusing on keeping her sister in check - the fact that she managed to do both was incredibly impressive to Alice. She had, on the other hand, found Amelia incredibly annoying. She was loud and air-headed and refused to pay any attention in class. She’d been completely oblivious to any social context whatsoever, which was the cause of their meeting in the first place - where Amelia had come up to her, completely unaware of who she was, and proceeded to unabashedly hit on her. Something like that normally would’ve had no effect on her, but Amelia...Amelia was different. Despite her flaws, Alice had also found that Amelia’s bold, optimistic, warm nature had cracked something in her in the best of ways. It was something, now thinking back on it, she found strangely endearing.

But Alice wasn’t going to tell him any of that. “Why?”

“Their parents are George and Martha Jones.”

Oh, well that would explain why her father was so interested. Senators George Jones and Martha Williams were two elected officials of Arcadia, a system set in place so that the people could still feel like they had a voice - regardless of the fact that the Order had turned it into a puppet organization long ago. The two Senators were rumored to have drawn up a proposal for the dissolution of the Order and the transition to complete democracy.

The two, according to the Order, were dangerous and potentially detrimental to the Order. Alice didn’t want to think about what the Order had planned for them when they were inevitably arrested by the police.

“I don’t want you associating with either of them,” her father said without any more preamble, his tone clearly indicating that there was no room for argument. “They pose a threat to the Order and I can’t have my daughter hanging around them. It's a disgrace.”

“But Father -”

“I said no more, Alice!” the man yelled, slamming his hand down on his desk and rising out of his seat. Alice studied the man before her, something akin to absolute hatred burning deep within her. After everything she’d done to make this man proud - a task abandoned long ago - she couldn’t bring herself to care about what her father wanted. She didn’t care exactly who Amelia was or who her parents were, Amelia - idyllic, blunt Amelia - and her sister were the first people in a long time who didn’t treat her like she had the plague. And she wasn’t giving that up because her brute of a father wanted her to.

“Very well,” she answered calmly, having not an inkling of intention to obey. “I won’t see either of them anymore.”

The answer seemed to settle her father.

“You’re dismissed.”

With that, Alice left the study, her mind already racing about how exactly she was going to continue the growing relationship she had with Amelia. It didn’t feel like a fool-hearted move, Alice was never one to allow her emotions to dictate her decisions. But not being with Amelia felt wrong. Like her entire being depended on the other girl and to not be with her would burn her from the inside out. Without her, Alice found herself feeling off-kilter, like the world around her was protesting the separation. It wasn’t a feeling Alice had ever experienced before, but it was a feeling that - this single time - she intended to follow, her father’s opinion be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is a reupload of a fic that I previously uploaded. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the context of which it was posted and felt unsatisfied with it every time I looked at it. So I was hoping that reuploading it with some changes would help me feel better about it. I hope you all like it!
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://silverphoenixwrites.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/sil_phoenix), and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/silverphoenix)!


	2. Chapter 2

Alice rode the monorail into Arcadia City the next morning, desperate to get out of the manor and return to school, and to see Amelia. The journey from the Kirkland estate into the city was a long one, filled with the images of distant, ice-capped mountains and dipping valleys. Below the monorail, vast expanses of green fields rapidly passed by, untouched by the steam-filled air of modern technology. The sky above was still filled with the angry clouds of the brewing storm, which had still yet to break, and the track in which the monorail hung by streaked across it like a scar.

The monorail traveled across the landscape at a rapid pace, swaying with each harsh gust of wind or slight turn of the track. For the duration of the ride, Alice kept to herself - sitting alone in the last carriage and engulfing herself in a book to pass the time. She only broke her concentration when the monorail slowed to a stop and the bold ARRIVED sign in the front of the carriage blinked a bright green.

Rising from her place, Alice made her way off the train, brushing past some of the other commuters who were milling about on the stilled train, and stepped out onto the train’s platform. Though Alice couldn’t say she was fond of the city - preferring the clarity and beauty of the countryside over the crowded, stifling clutter of the city - she had to admit that there were certain parts she did like. The monorail station was indeed one of them.

The large, open area of the platform was decorated with large columns of intricately carved stone and the floor was made of clear, heavily reinforced glass that revealed the sudden drop of the cliff face beneath them. The monorail was easily the largest thing in the station at the moment - filling the enormous space with the sleek, black metal of its cars and its intimidating presence. The steam from the trail swirled upwards towards the ceiling - a domed roof decorated with stained glass tiles that, when the sun shone through them, cast a mirage of colors onto the platform far below it. Now, however, with the sun covered by the angry storm clouds, the light of the street lamps were the only things that lit the platform.

Around her, hundreds of people were moving about their daily lives. Some moved to get on the newly arrived monorail, while others tried to mingle their way onto the platform as they exited. The majority, however, were stacked up in a line near the ticket booths or wondering to look at the products being sold by traveling vendors.

Uninterested in anything but leaving the platform, Alice pushed her way through the station and stepped out onto the streets of Arcadia City.

Arcadia City - the capital of Arcadia - was a tall, gleaming city placed atop one of the highest mountains in the land. It was a city of ‘new beginnings’ according to the Order - a place untouched by the Hoyle Kingdoms. Though Alice knew, with certainty, that Arcadia City, placed in the exact center of the country, was built where the borders of the ancient Kingdoms met. It was, to those who didn’t know any better, a place full of hope and life. It was also headquarters to the Order and their secret police - the heart of the deep, and immaculately hidden corruption that Arcadia had come to host.

Alice walked through the streets of Arcadia City, passing by a vast array of merchants and vendors selling small trinkets and fresh food. A group of school children played nearby, kicking around a tattered ball and laughing when it went right between the legs of one of their friends. Their laughter made Alice smile as she passed by, thinking briefly of how Amelia’s laughter had the same carefree boom to it.

“Well, well, well,” came the familiar sound of a teasing voice, one that immediately wiped the smile off of her face and caused her to roll her eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that I just saw a smile on Alice Kirkland’s face.”

“Good thing you know better, frog,” she snapped back. Alice turned her back to the children and glared at the approaching woman. Francine Bonnefoy. An insufferable, snobby-faced asshole who never seemed to pass up the opportunity to make Alice’s life miserable.

Francine simply smiled at the quip and threw her arm over Alice’s shoulders.

“Aww, it seems a certain someone has had an effect on you, my dear  _ lapine _ ,” the other woman continued, undeterred by Alice’s scowl. Alice huffed, shrugged off the arm, and began to walk away, determined to shake off the nuisance of a woman before she permanently put her in a bad mood.

Francine simply followed her quick step. “Oh come now, Alice, always so uptight.”

“Fuck off.”

“Such language…” Francine mocked, placing a hand to her heart as if the words would kill her at any moment. One could hope. “Trouble in paradise?”

Alice rolled her eyes and remained silent. Despite her hatred of Francine, they’d known each other too long to hide anything from one another. “Absolutely not.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” the other woman pointed out, a half-laugh escaping her.

But before Francine could push further, the two reached the guarded gates of Arcadia University. They were impressive, solid iron - much like on her family’s estate - separating the University from the rest of the city. Francine huffed when Alice pulled out her key for the guards. “Don’t think this is over, Kirkland. I still have questions.”

“And I will eagerly  _ not _ be awaiting them,” she replied, handing over the key to the man in the guard booth. The man took it and inserted it into the keyhole behind him, unlocking the looming gate beside them.

“You should never be afraid to tell me all of your secrets,” Francine said with a chuckle. She turned her back to Alice with a flourish and gave a wave. “Give Amelia my love.” 

Alice simply scoffed as she watched the woman retreat, thankful that Francine had elected to take a respite year from University before continuing. Otherwise, the woman might’ve managed to convince Alice to confide in her.

“Here ya are, Miss. Kirkland,” the guard spoke up, offering the key back to Alice. “Have a nice day.”

“Thank you,” she said with a polite smile, taking the key and tucking it back into her pocket.

Leaving the guard behind, Alice slipped through the gates and onto the University’s campus.

Alice could easily say that this place was another that she happened to like. The University consisted of two, identical skyscrapers - the tallest in Arcadia City - made up of study white marble and gleaming glass. In the daytime, sunlight would glint off of glass expanses and highlight the brilliance of the pristine stone. In the evenings, the lamps carved into the side of the buildings would cast their dimmed glows onto the glass and make it seem as though the marble had caught fire.

Now, the top of the buildings were lost to the storm clouds overhead.

Alice watched the clouds in trepidation, worried about exactly how bad the storm would be when it finally broke, and entered one of the skyscrapers. The insides were just as impressive as the outsides - clean, nearly sterile, white marble decorated every inch of the lobby and red leather lounge furniture sat stiff and untouched next to the reception desk. In the middle of the room, sitting like a prize, was the elevator, wrapped up in a wooden spiral staircase. It seemed more like a cage than anything, a small, capsule-like module bound in metal and protected by intricate metalwork that Alice couldn’t possibly hope to understand. She didn’t need to understand it to know that the elevator would prevent her from having to walk up the thirty-five winding flights of stairs that would’ve otherwise been waiting for her.

Luckily, the elevator capsule was on the ground floor, waiting for passengers.

Alice entered the elevator and pushed the thirty-fifth button on the panel. As the elevator jerked to life, Alice sat down on the bench within the capsule and watched as the floors rushed by. Sitting there, Alice couldn’t help but think back on the conversation with her father and her decision to keep seeing Amelia Jones. She couldn’t help but feel she was missing something important like there was a small, yet vital, piece of a puzzle that was being kept from her. Something that she wasn’t seeing.

The elevator came to a stop just as the thought crossed her mind. There was nothing unusual about the conversation she’d had with her father - if anything, she was used to the constant barrage of control. So why was she feeling this way?

As she exited the elevator, she felt a prickle go down her back, a result of the oncoming storm.

She was being paranoid, she decided. The life her family had entangled themselves in always called for a proper amount of paranoia, but this was ridiculous. If anything was going on, sure her father would have told her. Right?

Shaking off the feeling, Alice slipped into the classroom, knowing Amelia would put her at ease.

The classroom - furnished with long rows of desks and benches - was already filled with students, waiting for the teacher standing in front of the blackboard to begin. Alice searched for the Jones twins, finding herself eager to talk to Amelia.

But Alice couldn’t find Amelia anywhere in the room. Or Madeline, for that matter.

Confused, and trying to stifle the worry that was already building, Alice took her normal seat in the room. Maybe the twins were simply late.

She looked outside. The floor was nearly level with the storm clouds outside, which looked far angrier up close. From here, Alice could see the small sparks of lightning and feel the low rumble of the resulting thunder. Another prickling feeling ran through her.

“Alice!” someone called out. Alice snapped around, heart jumping in hope before she even realized that the voice calling to her definitely wasn’t Amelia. She was met with the face of Sakura Honda, a polite, steadfast woman who was a close friend of Amelia’s. Despite her normally calm nature, Alice saw a slight panic in her eyes. It didn’t do anything to calm Alice’s nerves.

“Sakura?”

“Did you hear?” she asked without preamble. An extremely uncharacteristic trait if Alice remembered correctly.

“Hear what?”

Sakura, seemingly both unsatisfied and worried about her answer, looked around the room. Her calm nature came back in full force and Sakura’s eyes bore into Alice. “Not here. Follow me.”

Completely forgetting about the lesson, Alice followed Sakura, questions flooding her brain. The two women found refuge in an empty bathroom. Alice locked the door behind them.

“What’s going on?”

“Last night, there was a raid on the Jones residence.”

“WHAT?”

“Shhhhhhhhh…” Sakura immediately scolded, glancing worriedly at the door. Alice’s blood had gone cold at her words. Why hadn’t her father bothered to tell her? Why the whole lecture about Amelia and Madeline? “They arrested all of them. The senators and the twins.”

“Wha...how…?”

“I saw the whole thing,” the other woman said grimly. Alice leaned against the counter, not trusting her legs to hold her up.

“Why?” The question was more for herself than Sakura.

“They haven’t said,” she answered anyway. “And they’re trying their best to cover it up.”

Another prickling sensation ran down her back again, making her shift uncomfortably.

“I thought you should know,” Sakura continued. “You were close to them.”

“Yes,” Alice managed, distracted by the overwhelming news. “Yes, thank you.” The prickling continued. “Will you give me a moment?”

Without another word, Alice went into one of the stalls, closed it, and began pulling off her shirt, trying to alleviate the feeling.

“What will happen to them?” came Sakura’s voice.

“I -” Alice paused, thinking about the question and trying to see whatever was causing the prickling on her back. “I don’t know.”

Alice saw a flash of cobalt blue on her back.

Everything seemed to freeze. Amelia and Madeline had been arrested and now a marking was on her back. Alice tried her hardest to wish it away - prayed that it was all some cruel nightmare that she was having and not reality. Without regard to Sakura, Alice exited the stall and stood in front of the mirror to get a better look at the mark.

It was a brilliant, swirling blue pattern, almost glittering underneath the bathroom light and unified in the middle of her back by an intricately designed spade.

“W-what is that?”

She whipped around to Sakura, who watched her with wide eyes. Alice took a calming breath. She couldn’t let her panic take over, this was important. Impossible, but important. Maybe the Divines really were playing a joke on her.

“Sakura,” Alice began, surprised at the steadiness in her voice. She grabbed the woman’s hands and gave her the most serious look she could. “Sakura listen to me. You can’t tell anyone about this. No one.”

Alice could see the debate raging in Sakura’s eyes. Then there was finality. “Of course. Your secret is safe with me.”

She released Sakura’s hands and nodded, relief flooding through her. Sakura wouldn’t tell, Alice had confidence in that.

The spade on her back seemed to burn deeper into her skin now that she knew it was there, painless but present. As many times as she had read about it, Alice couldn’t bring herself to even think about the connotations of what the mark meant. The magic - thought to have faded long ago - was still choosing monarchs for the ancient Kingdoms. And it had chosen her.

Outside, thunder rattled the building.

The storm had finally begun.


	3. Chapter 3

“What do we do?” was the first question Sakura asked her.

In all honesty, Alice had no idea. She was still trying to shove down the sheer panic that was threatening to boil over and her mind was practically racing with a million thoughts.

Next step, next step, next step.

She needed to talk to someone. Someone that she could trust who could give her possible advice on what she should do. Normally, that person would’ve been Amelia, but with the twins in jail it would be impossible to talk to her. So who else could she trust?

_ You should never be afraid to tell me all of your secrets. _

Fucking hell, she couldn’t possibly be considering...but that would make the most sense. As much as she loathed Francine, Alice had to admit the other woman was loyal and could most certainly keep a secret. And there was something, an instinct perhaps, telling her that this was a secret Francine would keep.

Alice turned to Sakura, her eyes boring into her once again.

“Go to class and don’t mention anything to anyone,” she told the other woman, slipping her shirt back on and straightening it. Alice gave herself a once over in the mirror, making sure that nothing was out of place. “I’ll take care of this.”

Sakura gave her a firm nod and went to leave before Alice stopped her again.

“And Sakura?” The other woman turned back to her, hand pausing on the handle of the door. “Thank you.”

Alice saw a small, kind smile light Sakura’s face before she gave her another, softer nod. “Of course.”

With that, Sakura slipped out of the bathroom.

Alice waited several minutes before also leaving the bathroom. Instead of making her way back to the classroom, like Sakura likely had, Alice made her way back towards the elevator, itching to get out of the building as soon as possible. She tried not to allow the phantom eyes burning into her affect her, yet Alice still found herself eager to leave the building.

The storm outside was raging. The sky had gone completely dark, blocking out the sun entirely, and rain pounded on the glass of the lobby windows. Alice could even see how the wind was ripping at the branches of the trees that lined the streets.

Cursing herself for not having the foresight of bringing an umbrella, Alice braced herself and left the building. The rain hit her instantly, cold and unyielding against her skin, while the wind took to whipping through her hair. Francine, thankfully, didn’t live far from the University, but Alice was completely soaked nonetheless by the time she’d reached the familiar doorstep.

“Alice?” Francine asked, rather than greeted, when she opened the door. The other woman seemed surprised to see a soaked Alice on her doorstep but stood aside to allow her inside anyways. “ _ Par les Divins _ , why are you out in the rain?”

Alice rushed past Francine and into the house. She hadn’t quite realized how soaked she was until the rain droplets began to drip down onto the floor and the fire that blazed in the living room fireplace began to warm her. “I need to talk to you.”

“Me?”

Now Francine sounded more incredulous than she looked. Alice couldn’t say she blamed her, she couldn’t even believe she was doing this.

“Yes, you,” she snapped back as she began to ring out her hair. Alice watched the fire carefully, welcoming the distraction. She could do this. She could trust Francine, right? “Are you going deaf as well as dumb?”

Francine scoffed but said nothing as she watched Alice dry out near the fire. The two sat in silence for several moments before Alice sat down on a nearby chair and Francine finally broke. “Well, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

The question made Alice pause.

Yes, yes, she could. She had to.

For the first time, Alice turned to Francine and glared at her. “Did you mean what you said earlier? About me telling you my secrets?”

Instead of a witty remark or a scoff, like Alice expected, Francine leveled a serious gaze at her. “Yes...yes, I did. Why?”

“I…” Alice took a deep breath. If she didn’t say it now, she never would. “Something’s happened. I don’t really know how to describe it, but -”

“A mark,” Francine interrupted quickly. The other woman took a step towards her and Alice could feel shock running through her. Francine knew? Before her? “On your back?”

“H-how…?”

“I have one too.”

Now that was certainly...unexpected. Alice spoke before she could even stop herself. “What?!”

“A yellow diamond?” Francine guessed, taking a seat next to her. A yellow diamond? So Francine had been chosen as a monarch too, just not as a spade. She’d been picked as a diamond - suitable she supposed, since what she’d read about the old Diamond Kingdom implied that they were pompous assholes.

“A blue spade,” she corrected, keeping those thoughts to herself and leaning back in her chair. “It showed up this morning.”

The pale blue in Francine’s eyes sparked in curiosity, Alice decided to ignore the small look of fear that came along with it. “What does it mean?”

“How many people have you told this about?” Alice asked, ignoring the question for the moment.

“No one.”

“Good,” she said, sighing in relief. “Good, let’s keep it that way.”

Francine simply leveled a gaze at her.

Alice clicked her tongue. Might as well go all in. 

“There is a book in our family’s library that talks about something like this,” she began. If Francine had been marked as a monarch, then she was in as much danger as Alice was. “This was exactly how the ancient Hoyle Kingdoms found their monarchs.”

In the firelight, Alice could see Francine’s eyes widen. “T-the Hoyle Kingdoms?”

“Yes. They were chosen by the Divines to rule. Four for each kingdom - a King, Queen, Jack, and Ace. They were considered to be blessed and almost always led their kingdoms into prosperity and peace.”

“But I thought that magic died out years ago…”

“I thought so too, until a couple of minutes ago when I found a giant bloody spade on my back.”

The two women sat in silence once again, the weight of Alice’s information sinking in.

“What do we do?” Francine eventually asked. “Everything about the Hoyle Kingdoms is strictly forbidden. We can’t just...come out as monarchs.”

“I don’t know,” Alice admitted, her voice no more than a whisper. And she really didn’t. She was hoping Francine might give her some insight, but it seemed both of them were stuck in the same place. Was there anyone else who could help?

Amelia’s smiling face instantly filled her head. She was certain that Amelia - bold, optimistic Amelia - would have no idea what to do, but it gave her some peace to know that the girl would’ve made a decision with absolute confidence instead of uncertainty.

Francine seemed to read her mind easily. “What about Amelia and her parents?”

Alice sighed and rubbed at her eyes, trying to fight the upcoming tears. “They’ve been arrested.”

“What?”

“Sakura told me this morning,” Alice continued. “Her, Madeline, and their parents were all arrested last night.”

There was a pause in the conversation and Alice almost began to think Francine had forgotten about their conversation, but then, “Does it have anything to do with the marks?”

Alice opened her mouth to answer, a ‘no’ on her lips, before she paused. The Jones family was already on the Order’s watchlist, sure, but could the raid and the marks have been correlated? They’d practically happened simultaneously.

“I don’t know.”

“Is there anyone you could ask?”

Alice leveled a gaze at the other woman and began to think. Her father was out of the question - he would immediately be suspicious about any questions Alice asked, especially about Amelia and her family - but there was another person who might be a little less suspicious. Her eldest brother, Seán. He was the eldest out of the five Kirkland siblings and, therefore, a future member of the Order. He might know just enough.

“I’ll ask Seán,” she told Francine, “He might know.”

“Do you trust that he’ll keep it from your father?”

In all honesty, Alice had no idea. Seán could be a bit cruel, but he certainly wasn’t the biggest ass out of all of her siblings. If it were Aileen, she’d have no doubt, but Seán was a loose cannon.

“I’ll have to risk it.”

Francine gave her a knowing nod, her eyes steely. It seemed Francine could be impressively serious when she needed to be.

Alice rose from her seat. “If you don’t hear back from me, assume the worst.”

Francine rose with her and followed closely behind when Alice made her way to the door. “I’ll go with you.” 

“No,” she cut off, leveling Francine with the same commanding gaze she’d given Sakura not an hour before. By the Divines, had it only been an hour? It felt like days. “If something happens, there needs to be someone who knows. You and I aren’t the only ones this is happening to.”

She knew she’d won when Francine didn’t respond.

“Wish me luck,” she said, opening the front door. Outside, the rain still poured down heavily.

“Do try to come back,” Francine replied, crossing her arms. “I would hate to have to find someone else to bicker with.”

Alice couldn’t help the quirk of her lips, and she feared that Francine may have seen it as well. Damn it.

Before Francine could even comment, Alice threw herself back out into the rain and began to make her way to the train station. Her mind began racing, catching up with everything that had happened. She and Francine had been chosen to rule by the Divines. But what did it mean? And how long had the magic been choosing monarchs for?

Underneath all of the questions, though, there was one that concerned Alice most of all.

If the monarchs had never stopped being chosen, why hadn’t anyone come forward?

Yes, the monarchs had technically been disbanded when Arcadia had formed, but surely one of the chosen had attempted to claim the titles back? Right?

The questions plagued Alice the entire train ride back to the Kirkland estate.

There was something more sinister at play here and Alice had no doubt that the Order was likely behind it. Which was why it was an extraordinarily stupid idea to go asking around about it.

She knocked on the door to her brother’s office anyway.

“Yes?” she heard her brother answer from within.

Alice cracked open the door and peaked in. Her brother sat at his desk, leaning over some important-looking papers and looking very stressed out. She squashed the small sense of satisfaction she got when she saw him. “May I come in?”

“Alice!” Seán said, the relief palpable in his voice. He brushed back the strand of fiery, red hair that had fallen into his face. “Come in, please.”

She did just that, closing the door behind her as she did. Seán’s office was much different than her father’s, to her relief, but no less intimidating. It was neat, suffocatingly so, and the lack of windows behind him made the space seem claustrophobic and close off from the rest of the world.

“Do you have time to talk?”

Her brother seemed surprised by the question and Alice didn’t blame him. It seemed today was filled with a plethora of surprises.

“Ummm, yes,” he said hesitantly, placing the pen he held in his hand down and leaning back in his chair. “Yes, I do. What’s wrong?”

“You can’t tell Father,” was the first thing out of her mouth. There wasn’t any guarantee that Seán would or wouldn’t do anything, but he was the least likely out of her siblings to dick her over. “Promise me.”

She saw Seán’s curiosity peak and, for a moment, there was hope. “Oh? What exactly do you want to talk about?”

“Amelia.”

“Ah,” Seán sighed, “I thought this would happen. You know there’s nothing I can do -”

“I know, I know,” Alice interrupted, not wanting the whole spiel. “I just want to know why.”

Seán gave her a thoughtful hum, “I can’t say that I know for sure. The Order keeps things like that locked down, even from future members like myself. I know you don’t want to, but Father is really the only one who could tell you for certain why.”

The disappointment must’ve shown on her face because her brother continued cautiously. “...But, I might be able to ask him for you, if you want.”

Alice knew her brother well enough to know that this wasn’t a simple favor. “And what do you want in return?”

Seán simply laughed at her, “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Now that was dangerous. Alice couldn’t exactly say no though. If the only one who knew what was going on was her father, then she needed to know.

“Fine,” she spat, crossing her arms at him. “But nothing too ridiculous. I have dignity, you know.”

Seán gave her a laugh and rose from his desk and the two siblings made their way to their father’s office and that dark door. Before Seán knocked, Alice could hear her father inside, talking to...someone.

“...Spades Queen is left,” he was saying, his voice muffled and distant. “Mr. Keer won’t be happy.”

Ice ran through Alice’s veins. The Spades Queen? What about the Spades Queen? The mark on her back burned at the words.

There was a pause.

“Yes, yes, I know. We are looking for all of them.”

Seán knocked on the door before Alice could hear anymore, but Alice already felt cold and distant. Asking Seán had been a bad idea, asking their father was a bad idea. The Order was looking for the marked monarchs - her, Francine, and any others her father had mentioned.

“Enter,” their father’s voice commanded before Alice could backtrack on her request to her brother.

Seán gave her a wink and entered the study. If Seán told their father she was asking questions, she feared the consequences. Her blood would only protect her so much if they discovered the spade on her back. The door shut behind her brother, a sense of finality and dread settled in the air, and Alice was left alone in the hallway.


End file.
